A Global Enigma
by Bunny Bumpkins
Summary: An invite to a World Country Meeting soon turns into a murder mystery. And anyone could be the culprit. • • ― A Professor Layton and Axis Powers Crossover .
1. A Bloody Arrival

**(A/N):** This fic is meant to be read in ½ alignment.

o ― •― ― •― ― •― ― •― ―• ― o

» **A Global Enigma **«

o ― •― ―• ― ―• ― ― •― ―• ― o

_An invite to a World Country Meeting soon turns into a murder mystery.  
And anyone could be the culprit._

• • ― _Professor Layton and Axis Powers Crossover ._

* * *

**Chapter One**

_A Bloody Arrival_

* * *

"I can't believe we got invited by Mr. Kirkland himself!"

"Yes, even I am quite honored."

A boy and a tall man were walking down a large hallway adorned with golden frames that contained portraits of many representatives from Great Britain. Besdies noting the honorable men and women in the paintings, the hallway itself was a royal collage of its own: the floorboards were of the finest maple wood, the walls a blended color of beige and cream, the doorknobs a posh bronze, and the crystal-clear glass windows accessorized by the most exotic of fabrics. It truly was a praiseworthy building fit for the Prime Minister himself.

As the two continued their slow pace, taking time to admire all the decoration and design, the small boy quickly fished out a small pad of notebook paper from his pocket and eagerly flipped through its empty sheets.

"I'm sure Flora would love it if I recorded some of the things the representatives will be addressing," he mused aloud, clearly excited. As he continued to walk, he glanced over at his tall accomplice. "I can't wait to see what everyone looks like! I've never even seen a Chinese person before! Are they really as small as I am?"

"Now, now, Luke," his friend interrupted, "Remember your manners: never blurt such offensive things like that – even if they are innocent curiosities." The man tipped his large top hat and winked. "After all, it's what a gentleman does."

"I'm sorry, Professor," Luke said, instantly regretting his rude exclamation. "I guess I'm just really excited is all…"

The professor let out a small chuckle, happy to hear that his little apprentice was just as exuberant as he was. "That's all right, Luke. I know you didn't mean any harm to it. Just make sure you don't stare too much at everyone, alright? We wouldn't want them to be offended, would we?"

"I promise I won't!"

By then, the two had arrived at the end of the hallway, where a grand door with gold crown framing was awaiting to be opened. Beyond its wooden doors were powerful world leaders, who were undergoing intense discussions of global affairs…

"Ready, Luke?" the man asked, looking down at his smaller trainee.

Luke nodded anxiously.

The professor knocked on the door twice (for knocking more than two would be considered rude, no?) and waited to be allowed in. And, in less than a few seconds, the grand doors flew open and a tall gentleman with sandy blonde hair and a faded green British uniform stood before the professor and his eager friend.

"Ah, Professor Layton! What a pleasure to meet you!" exclaimed the young man. He immediately stuck out his hand towards the professor.

"And what a pleasure to meet the Representative for Great Britain," Layton replied back, shaking hands with the man. "I am very honored to partake in such a rare discussion."

"Yes, well, it was the least I could offer after you solved that Folsense mystery," the British man said, letting out a taut laugh.

"Oh, it was nothing, really."

"U-Uh…"

Layton and the British representative quickly turned down to look at Luke, who was awkwardly standing next to the professor, clearly looking like he'd been ignored.

"Oh, Mr. Kirkland, this is Luke, my apprentice," Layton hastily added.

"Why hello there, little ol' chap!" the British rep exclaimed. He bent down to pat the top of Luke's pale blue cap.

"G-Good day, Arthur Kirk-! I-I mean-, Mr. Kirkland," Luke nervously stuttered, avoiding his gaze from the powerful representative. His cheeks were already turning a rosy shade out of embarrassment. "I-It's a pleasure to join your discussion."

"Oh, of course, of course! And it's wonderful to have the two of you here, too. Now, shall we?" Arthur opened the door a little wider and stepped aside for the two to walk inside.

"Hey, Professor," Luke whispered, "Don't you think Mr. Kirkland's eyebrows are really bushy?"

"Now, Luke," Layoton answered back in a hushed voice, "Remember what I told you."

"Yes, but…I can't help but notice that they look like caterpillars!" Luke exclaimed, trying to contain a snort. "I didn't expect him to look like that…"

"Yes, well, life is full of surprises, my boy."

As the two entered the luxurious discussion room, they were stunned by the arquitecture and interior design: a shiny light brown set of floorboards, a wall-length glass window ornamented with light yellow curtains, and a huge dark oak table that sat the other representatives. All the seats were taken except for Arthur's and the ones reserved for the two of them. A few of the nations were talking with one another, while some were staring off straight into space. Another important note was that all of the representatives were fairly young despite the many portraits of old British representatives Layton had seen in the hallway he'd been walking through.

"Professor Layton, welcome to the World Country United Nations," Arthur announced.

At this, the vast array of faces immediately turned to look at the two of them, wide-eyed and curious.

"A pleasure to meet you all," Layton said, tipping his hat off.

There were some nods and grumbles and a few coherent phrases of "you too" as Arthur escorted them into the two seats that were next to his. Layton's seat, of course, was reserved for the one right next to Arthur, while Luke sat next to Layton and a shy blonde girl with an exquisite burgundy dress.

"Now, as for our first current issue," Arthur began, clearing his throat as he did so, "I propose that we start off with the Flu Epidem-!"

"Oh, no, no, no! Not that again!" sighed a man with shampooed wavy blonde hair and a stark aftershave. "You always want to talk about depressing stuff first. Why not try something a bit more happier?"

Arthur gritted his teeth and took a quick glance at the professor.

"Well, France, what do you suppose we talk about?" England asked through slitted eyes.

"'France'?" Luke whispered aloud. He quickly turned to look at the professor for an explanation. "Why did Mr. Kirkland call him by his country's name?"

"Well, since this is a World Country discussion, I suppose it's easier to call each person by his or her country's name," the professor replied.

"Oh, I see…" Luke quickly took his pad of paper out and began to write the professor's answer.

"Hey! How about we talk about global warming!? I have a great idea for that!" exclaimed a rather peppy representative (who was probably excited because of the two cans of drippy-sweet soda he had in front of him on the table).

"Oh, PLEASE not that stupid 'Let's-build-a-hero-so-he-can-reflect-the-sun' idea! That is plain bogus!" France snapped as he made a flip of his hair. "Nobody can create a human that can do that."

"Aw, but I thought it was such a good idea! What did you think about it, Japan?"

A rather small Asian man with a bowl-cut sheepishly looked down at the table, trying not to answer the question in an offensive way.

"I…I think it's an okay idea," the man quietly replied.

"There you go AGAIN, Japan! Never speaking what you mean!" cried another country as he angrily banged his fist down on the table out of frustration. "Just tell America that you think his idea is stupid!"

"Stupid? I don't think it's stupid! Geez! Is everyone against me or something?"

"Brother," the shy girl that Luke was sitting next to murmured. She took her angry brother's hand into hers. "Please try to understand where America is coming from. I sure he means no bad intentions."

"L-Lichtenstein…"

"How about we talk about border issues?" advised a rather tall young man. "I was wondering that since I have control over the Baltic Countries, I was wondering if maybe we could rename them with "Soviet" in their name!"

At this idea, Luke noticed that three countries that were sitting next to each other immediately began to shiver and shake, clearly terrified by not only the idea, but also at the man who had advised it.

"Russia, please try to understand that this isn't all about you," huffed an intelligent-looking representative with glasses and a mole.

"Oh, but it's not all about me," the Russian said, "I was only giving an _example._"

Suddenly, a cold aura spread over the room and everyone quickly grew silent.

"Is anything wrong?" Russia asked, cocking his head innocently. "I hope I didn't-!"

"A-Ah, how about we talk about…imports and exports, aru?" another Asian country asked. His incoherent accent made it even more difficult for Luke to transcribe the discussion down on paper. "I have some great new items that I know everyone would like!"

In a blink of an eye, the small Asian man was fumbling in his pack to display his new products to the others. "This idea came from Shaolin, since Kung-Fu movies are all the rage in America these days."

"They are!" agreed the perky American with a bright smile.

"Here we go with America again! China, are you really just focusing on America just so you can get money from a superpower?" France asked bitterly.

"Uh…no?" China hesitantly replied, quickly darting his eyes away from the Frenchman. "But…I have a cashmere scarf if you'd like. I'll give it to you for free, aru." He offered a bright red-colored scarf that he'd pulled out from his big pack of items.

"Oooh, yes, I'll take it!!" France immediately snatched it from the small Chinaman's hands and wrapped it around his neck. "Ooooh, it's so _sex_y! …Like me!"

Despite the lively arguments the representatives were having, Luke noticed that all he had written down was useless junk about all the other countries. Luke quickly looked at the old-fashioned grandfather clock that lay in the left corner of the room. It seemed that for the past 30 minutes they had been talking about selling items and other useless junk – they hadn't even discussed into an _actual_ topic!

Was this really what happened during a World Country Meeting?

Luke turned to look at the professor. It appeared that he, too, was surprised by the remarkable amounts of nonsense that these countries were talking about.

"Everyone, everyone!" England shouted, pounding his hand on the desk. "Let's all get to a topic and stay with it, alright?! Alright, now…how about…-!"

"A BREAK!" screamed a rather lax representative.

The proposal had come from a country with light brown hair who had a strange strand of gelled hair that curled upwards. The two countries who were sitting next to him were covering their ears with annoyed looks.

"I-Italy-!" cried a stern, muscular young man. "What are you-?"

"Why'd you have to yell so loud, Veniciano?!" exclaimed the other, who looked shockingly alike to the yelping little Italian. "I'm right next to you, you know!"

"Aww, I'm sorry, brother!" But I'm just really hungry for pasta…"

"Aughhhh! When will you understand that Great Britain doesn't HAVE pasta!?"

"Waaah?! No pasta!? Why wouldn't Great Britain have-?"

"Look, just-!"

"I agree with North Italy," England blurted, standing up from his seat. "I suppose we should take a break. It's…tea time, anyway."

"You and your tea," America said, shaking his head back and forth with dismay. "It's always about your tea."

――――――――――――――

――――――――

The break room was rather small, and it was really hard for all the representatives to move around each other (ah, how British lifestyle was quaint and small!). There were antique cabinets and patterened curtains, along with many paintings done by famous artists.

Layton was talking with a couple of countries, while Luke was chowing down on the scones and buttery buscuits that were laid out for the representatives to eat. (America clearly didn't like the selection and decided to pop out another Coke).

As Luke swallowed the last of his fifth scone, he eyed a rather young-looking country that was standing near a corner of the room. He immediately identified him as one of the Three Baltic Countries – one of the representatives who had shivered after Russia's remark about borders and country names.

Curious, Luke decided to approach the boy.

"Hello there," Luke introduced. "My name's Luke. What's yours?"

The boy, realizing that someone was actually talking to him, immediately flinched and trembled with fear with shock. He looked as if he'd seen a ghost – or at least something that was out to harm him. However, when he realized that it was merely a boy around his own age that was speaking to him, his regained his composure.

"M-My name is R-Raivis Galante," the boy stuttered shyly, "But…you can call me Latvia. It's easier that way."

"Latvia, huh? I've never heard of your country before."

"Oh, well, it's a rather small country," the blonde boy said with flushed cheeks. He put a hand to his face, embarrassed. "After all, nobody would know of my country unless they knew…_ him_."

"Who?"

"R-R-Russia."

It seemed that saying the large Eurasian country's name was a handful for the young adolescent.

"Russia?" Luke turned to scan the small room for him. It wasn't that hard to find him, since he was the tallest of all the other countries – plus he was rather dull in color in contrast to the vivacious colors of the room. "What's so bad about him?"

"O-Oh! N-No, nothing's wrong with him at all! He's a real great guy! A real…great guy!"

"Why're you getting so hysteri-?" Luke stopped mid-sentence as Layton's words reminded him of such rude behavior. After all, a gentleman wasn't supposed to press for information – it wasn't polite. "Y'know, nevermind. I shouldn't be asking you so many questions…"

Latvia's lips twisted tight at Luke's dismayed face. The fidgety country took a sharp glance over at Russia, who was talking with his favorite Asian accomplice, China.

"Uhm, Luke…"

"Yes?"

As Luke turned to look at the country, he could see a glint of helplessness in the boy's eyes – it was as if he was suppressing something.

"What you were saying about before. About Russia. I…"

_EEEEEEEKKKKKK-!!!_

A female's shrill cry pierced the atmosphere. All chatter and chuckle faltered as dozens of heads made a sharp turn towards the foreboding sound.

A mass of bodies scuttled out of the parlor room and out into the hallway, where the noise had been made. As a frenzy of heads and national clothing bounded out towards the sound, Luke and Latvia were all that remained in the now empty room, full of discarded biscuits and teacups.

"W-What do you think that was?" Luke asked, clearly distraught by the sudden noise.

Latvia didn't answer and turned away with a guilty face.

"Latvia?"

"Oh God…" a voice from the hallway shrieked.

Without thinking, Luke left the adolescent country in the parlor room and ran towards the crowd of people, who were standing around the entrance to one of England's guest bedrooms. Luke weaved through the crowd with his agile body until he arrived at the front to get a firsthand look.

And it wasn't a pretty sight.

The first thing Luke noticed was the river of blood that the body was drenched in. It was staining the shiny hardwood floor into a deep maroon shade. The next thing was the body, which was laid limply on the floor. The man's head was on the ground, with his back towards his horrified audience. His clothes were rather extravagant, with a dark purple tailcoat and fancy dress shoes. But what had ruined such elegant fashion was the single, bloody dagger that had pierced his back.

Luke's stomach coiled into a knotted mess and he could feel the scones he'd eaten wanting to come back out.

"A-Austria…" sobbed a nearby girl, who was apparently the girl who had let out the scream. She covered her face with her hands as her tears continued to drip down her face and onto the floor.

"What is the meaning of this?!" yelled England. "Who in the bloody hell would do such a thing!?"

"I'm not sure," Luke found himself replying, "But…whoever did this…isn't going to fess up."

* * *

**-to be continued…**

**

* * *

**

**LUKE'S NOTEBOOK**

World Country Representatives are addressed by their country's name because it's easy to remember and to make discussions go quicker.

Arthur Kirkland has really bushy eyebrows. REALLY bushy ones. They're like caterpillars! He needs to get a wax.

China really IS small! But he's taller than me. Am I really that small? Wait till I tell Flora that I saw a Chinaman!

America loves soda. Coke, especially. I saw the cans in the bin.

France seems like a real snobby man. He really likes to flip his hair around. And he eyed me all the time and got me all sore the entire time we had break-time. What a creeper!

Latvia is a really nice chap. He's a bit shy. Oh, and he's really quirky sometimes, too. Like, he thinks someone's going to get him from behind or something. But he's a real nice chap. Next time, if Mr. Kirkland will let me, I'll sit next to him. Do you think young representatives are allowed playtime?

A-Austria was found in one of England's quarters sprawled on the floor…with blood. And every single country was with us except for North Italy and South Italy.

* * *

**(A/N):** Alright, so that's the first chapter to this really weird crossover. Yes, I am Chinese, so I hope I'll be allowed to get away with the little "Chinaman" jokes. But really, you can't help but think it's funny that Luke thinks Chinese people are small. I found that rather cute. Oh, and his remark about England's eyebrows. Hee, I had a kick out of writing that. (ARTHUR'S EYEBROWS ARE EPIC.) So if you could please tell me what you think about this crossover, it would be great!


	2. Interrogations at Tea Time

**(A/N):** This fic is meant to be read in ½ alignment.

* * *

o ― •― ― •― ― •― ― •― ―• ― o

» **A Global Enigma **«

o ― •― ―• ― ―• ― ― •― ―• ― o

_An invite to a World Country Meeting soon turns into a murder mystery.  
And anyone could be the culprit._

• • ― _Professor Layton and Axis Powers Crossover .  
_

* * *

**Chapter Two**

_Interrogations at Tea Time_

* * *

After the hysteria had died down, Germany and a few other hefty-looking representatives removed Austria's bloody body from England's mansion. Although Layton and Luke weren't involved in the physical work, word had gotten around that they had dug a gravesite for the man.

As soon as the grueling tasks were complete, Layton had called for every single country to come to the parlor, no questions asked.

Hungary, who was wedged between a supportive Belgium and a compassionate Lichtenstein, smothered her teary face in her handkerchief. Her sobbing and incoherent mumbling clearly showed how distraught she was at the loss of her closest ally.

Luke, who had taken a seat next to his new friend Latvia, eyed the poor European girl as the two other country's patted her legs and hugged her closely as they tried to hold back their own tears, too.

"I guess Austria must've been a really important country," Luke mused aloud.

"W-Well, he had very close ties to Hungary and Switzerland," Latvia replied with his usual stutters. "After all, he does trade a lot with his neighboring countries. Considering he's…a landlocked country."

"I guess I really don't know much about other countries other than England."

"Oh, it's not your fault," Latvia quickly interjected. "I mean, I've never heard of a kid other than myself who's caught up in politics…"

At that moment, the door to the parlor opened and Professor Layton stepped through.

There was an immediate hush as soon as he set foot inside. Even Hungary, with reddened eyes and a runny nose looked up from her tissue as she gazed into the confident eyes of the professor.

Layton cleared his throat and made a brief side-step to position himself in front of all the pairs of eyes that were looking up at him with nervous curiosity.

"As everyone already is aware of, Roderich Edelstein, the representative for Austria, is dead."

Immediately, Hungary let out another loud moan and began to resume her uncontrollable sobbing.

Layton's expression turned grave, as he knew that mentioning Austria's death would only cause more grief for her. Nevertheless, he continued on.

"According to Mr. Kirkland, the room that Austria was killed in was Switzerland's room."

At this, there was a sudden gasp amongst the countries. Few even had the bravery to turn to look at the country.

Switzerland immediately stiffened in his seat and his green eyes narrowed.

"So? What of it?" There was a tinge of annoyance within his rough, boyish voice. "Are you saying that _I_ killed Austria? Is that what you're getting at?"

"I never said that you did," Layton replied back. "Though, since you've brought up the topic…did you kill him?"

At the professor's cold question, Hungary spun her head to face the Swiss representative.

"S-Switzerland…?" Hungary managed to whisper.

"H-How _**dare**_ you accuse me of killing Austria!" Switzerland screamed. He rose from his seat with clenched fists and a reddened face. Clearly, the hot-headed country was ready for a fight.

Layton, in contrast, coolly put a finger under his chin in a pensive manner.

"Again, I wasn't 'accusing' you of anything. I was merely asking you whether or not you had anything to do with his death."

"Well I didn't!" he snapped. "Happy?"

"B-Brother," a young blonde girl piped up from beside him. She gingerly stood up too and gently reached for Switzerland's arm. "Please be nice to the Professor. He's only trying to help…"

"Lichtenstein…" Switzerland turned to look at his sister, whose identical green eyes reflected emotions of concern and worry.

After glancing down at her, Switzerland's testy temper was promptly subdued by his calm and compassionate sister. He slowly sat back down and regained composure. It was only a few seconds until the rash young man began to speak again.

"Austria and I were very close when we were young," Switzerland began. "Though, I was annoyed with him because he always kept failing and had to be bailed out by me when it came to wars."

Switzerland paused at this, thinking that his introduction might have been too suspicious. He took a quick look at the Professor, whose face was expressionless. After turning to look back down at the floor, he pressed on.

"But after I found Lichtenstein and started to fund her country for support, Austria and I grew apart and have never really spoken with one another since."

At this comment, Lichtenstein shuffled in her place beside her brother. She appeared uncomfortable by the fact that she was the one who had caused Austria and Switzerland to distance, given the fact that her country was squeezed right between them.

"So, that's how I'm related to him."

"I see," Layton said with closed eyes. "Is there anyone else that might be related to him?"

"Well, there's-!"

"Oh me! Me! I'm related to him!" boasted a rather peppy Italian, who was waving his hand madly in the back seats of the parlor.

"D-Don't wave your hand so aimlessly like that!" his brother, South Italy, complained. "He just might think you're insane."

"Oh, right!" Luke exclaimed. "That's that weirdo who yelled during the meeting." He turned to look over at Latvia. "Who is that, anyway?"

"T-That's Feliciano Vargas," Latvia replied with a quivering mouth. "He represents North Italy. The one sitting next to him is his brother, Romano Vargas. He represents South Italy."

"I see…"

Luke fished for his notebook within his pocket and decided to jot down a few notes.

"W-What's that?" Latvia asked as he craned his neck to see what his new friend was doing.

"Oh, I'm just making some notes about my trip," he replied cheerily. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime deal! And I'm writing these for my friend, Flora, since she couldn't come to see it."

"Oh..."

Latvia's curious blue eyes blinked as he tried to see what kind of things Luke was writing about.

"Um, Luke…what kind of notes are you writing in that notebook?"

"Huh?"

"I-I was just asking what kind of notes you're writing…?"

"Oh. They're notes. Just notes," Luke replied simply.

"Y-Yes, but…what kind?"

Luke turned to look at Latvia, confused.

Wasn't it obvious?

"Well…if you must know," Luke said hesitantly, "I suppose you can take a peek at what I've been writing…"

Luke cautiously handed him his notebook. Latvia took the bound little black book into his small hands and began to scan the pages for what seemed to be something specific.

Luke looked at his friend with bewilderment – why did he care so much as to what he was writing about?

"Uh, Latvia," he prompted. "Is there anything _wrong _with my notes?"

Instantly, the country's eyes widened at Luke's remark and he immediately turned to look at him with a panicked expression. He shoved the book back into Luke's arms and began to make an awkward, nervous laugh.

"O-Of course not! I was just curious, because…well…"

"Because why?"

"…Because I've…never met a…girl…?"

At once, the adolescent's cheeks flustered into a rosy shade of pink, and he began to nervously fidget in his seat with embarrassed eyes.

"Really!?"

He hesitantly nodded.

"Oh, well Flora isn't much of a girl, anyway." Luke said with a snort. "She's just…well…"

Luke looked down at the notebook that lay on his lap. Why was he writing these notes for her, anyway?

"Hm, well, I guess I never thought about-!"

"Waaah! I had nothing to do with this, Mr. Professor, sir! I'm innocent! I'm innoceeeent!"

The wails from North Italy sounded across the room as the country's representative began to hysterically cry.

"I'm innocent, I swear!"

"Feliciano!" cried France. "I never would've guessed that _you_ of all people was the culprit! And to even think that I actually LIVED with you at one point in my life…-!"

"Ah, shaddup, you pompous Frenchman!" snapped an angry South Italy.

"You better watch your-!"

"Everyone, please." Layton said. "Let's calm down so that I can get the full story." He turned to look at a sniffling North Italy, who was still mumbling incoherent noises. "North Italy, if you'll please."

"I-I was exiting the parlor with my brother towards England's kitchen-!"

"My kitchen?" England inquired, who sat with folded arms and a crossed leg. "Why did you go there?"

"So that I could make pasta!" the Italian whimpered with puckered lips.

"But I specifically asked that everyone be in the parlor room," England mentioned. "Unless…you were-!"

"Someone check the knives in England's kitchen!" blurted a frantic France, who dramatically raised a hand to his head like a damsel in distress. "If a knife is missing in England's kitchen, then my poor little Feliciano is guilty!"

"Now, now, I'm sure there's an explanation for this," Layton interjected. He turned to look at the other crowd of countries, who were quietly waiting for what he had to say next.

"May I ask someone to go and check England's knives?"

A single hand rose from the group of counties.

"I will."

The hand came from a stocky man who was towards the back of the parlor. He had a messy bob of bed-ridden silver hair with piercing red eyes to match. He stood up from his seat and nonchalantly strolled over towards the professor, who was small in comparison to the tall, young representative.

"It's just to check the knives, right?"

The professor's eyes narrowed as he looked the country up and down. There was something about his casual demeanor…

"Hell-o?"

The silver-haired young man bent down a little to get closer into the professor's face. "Is anyone even in there? Do I go or what?"

"Ah, yes, yes," the Professor quickly replied with a nod. "Mr. Kirkland, how many knives do you happen to have in your kitchen?"

"Mmm," the young Englishman put a finger to his chin, thinking. "**Around twelve**, I think."

"Yeesh, how long does it take to get stuff done around here, anyway?" moaned the representative with a snort. And with that, he left the parlor to scope out the kitchen.

"Who was that snob?" Luke hissed. "How dare he talk to the professor like that!"

"That was Gilbert Weillschmidt," Latvia answered back automatically. "He represents Prussia."

"Boy, I really must be ignorant about other countries!" Luke exclaimed. "But then again, I really don't want to know much about _his_ country, since he's so _rude_."

"I think it's just him," Latvia added. "After all, Prussia did have an affiliation with Austria. …Maybe he's just mad."

"Maybe. Or maybe he's just a wanker."

"O-Oh…"

"Is there anything wrong, Professor?" England asked, eyeing the pensive scholar.

"No…"

"It wasn't me! I swear it wasn't! You've gotta believe me!" Feliciano yelped. "Hungary, you know it wasn't me, right!?"

Surprised, Hungary turned to look over at North Italy, whose cheeks were red from bawling.

She merely blinked.

"I'm sorry, Feliciano, but…-!"

"BUUUAAAARRRRRGGGHHH!!!"

Suddenly a savage roar echoed throughout the mansion.

"Prussia!" England yelled, jolting from his chair.

With apprehensive looks, everyone filed out of the parlor and out into the hallway, where they'd hard the deafening yell.

As the group made a sharp left at the end of the hallway, everyone halted to a stop as to what they saw next.

It wasn't blood.

But a net.

A big, giant, human-trapping net.

And in it laid a tangled (and pissed off) Prussia.

"Oh my," Layton breathed.

"Lemme outta this frickin' net!" cried the fuming Prussian. "Get me out so that I can beat the crap outta that stupid kid!"

"My! What language!" snapped a disgusted Belgium. She turned her frizzy blond head to look over at Hungary, who was still recovering from her sobbing state. "Is this really the kind of guy you hang out with?"

"'Kid'?" the Professor repeated. "What kid?"

"I-It wasn't me, professor! I swear it wasn't!" Luke interjected.

"Not me, either," Latvia added quietly.

"Then if it wasn't you two, then who-?"

"I gotcha, you cold-blooded killer!"

In the blink of an eye, a small boy whizzed out from another hallway and jumped on top of Prussia, attempting to strangle the larger country.

"You little twerp! Get outta my fac-!"

"Sealand!" England cried.

At his country's name, the young boy's head popped up to look at the crowd that was watching him with utter shock. "Oh, hey, England!"

The boy appeared to be ten, with short-cropped blonde hair and a pair of bushy eyebrows, much like England's. His boyish personality combined with his country's name coincided with his outfit, as he was dressed in a sailor suit with a light blue cap.

"Sealand…?" Layton inquired, turning to look at England for an answer.

"He's a new country. Consider him my…little brother," England disdainfully replied with a limp nod. "It's quite embarrassing – I'm so sorry that you had to see this, Professor…"

"Wow! He's just about as old as I am!" Luke exclaimed.

"Sealand, get Prussia out of that net right now," England commanded.

"Hunh?! Why!?"

"Because he's innocent."

"Yeah! You hear that, you little brat?!" jeered a rabid Prussia. His angry eyes looked up at the stupefied boy.

"You mean…he's _not_ he killer?"

"Of course he's not the killer! Now get him out of there this instant!"

"Oh, alright…"

Unwillfully, the little country stooped down and broke the black wire, freeing a vicious beast-of-a-country that was out for revenge.

As soon as Prussia was released, he immediately took hold of Sealand's sailor suit and began to drag him towards him with immense force.

"Now it's time you get a taste of what you just-!"

"Hold on!" Layton immediately blurted.

With Sealand's face about to be punched by a fierce fist, everyone stopped and looked at the professor.

"What is, Professor?" Luke asked with wide eyes.

"**Sealand. What did you just use to get Prussia out of that net**?"

"Huh? Oh, just this," the young country replied, taking small breadknife out from his pocket.

There was an immediate wave of gasps and yelps.

"W-Why's everyone so-?"

"**That's the knife**!" cried North Italy, who was standing right behind the professor. He bounded forward and seized Layton's shoulder as he pointed at the knife in Sealand's hands.

"**That's the knife that I used to cut the bread!**"

"Bread? Why do you need bread?"

"For Garlic bread, of course," South Italy said matter-of-factly.

"Oh…"

"Wait, but then why does Sealand have it?" asked America as he munched on another hamburger.

"Strange," Layton commented, putting a finger to his chin. "Very, very strange…"

――――――――――――――

――――――――

After an angry Prussia had unsuccessfully managed to beat up a small Sealand, the whole group returned to the tea parlor, where everyone took their seats.

Layton had asked for Sealand to speak about the incident, and was thus told to sit in front of the room, where all eyes were on him. Layton, of course, took his usual position at the front of the room, where he paced back and forth in the small quarters. As for everyone else, they awaited to hear what the small boy had to say about the murder.

"Now, Sealand," Layton began, "Tell me everything that you did today."

"You mean like, ever since I woke up? Or like, ever since like…before the murder?"

"You bloke! Didn't you understand the question!?" yelled an embarrassed England from behind.

"I-I did, it's just that-!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Kirkland," Layton reassured. "It's alright: he's probably just a bit nervous, is all."

At this, a grumpy England hesitantly shut his mouth and looked away.

"Just tell me everything that happened before the murder."

"A-Alright…"

The little boy took a deep breath and settled into his big, leather chair.

"Today, the countries were supposed to come to England's house, so England told me to set up the dining hall and nice and pretty. So I was doing that – I was swear I was doing that, you can take a look – and then I needed to go the bathroom."

Layton nodded for the boy to continue, while a few others were already bored out of their wits from hearing a small boy talk about his day.

"So when I was passing the halls to go to the bathroom…KA-POW!"

Suddenly, everyone jumped to a start after hearing Sealand's sudden sound effect.

"I saw him! I swear I did! He was going towards the hallway where the parlor was and then he made a turn into a room and then he left and went into the parlor. And then I kinda just went on with my business when SHA-ZAM! I heard a scream!"

"You…saw him?" Layton asked, quite surprised.

He nodded up and down.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner!?" snapped England.

"Well, you never asked."

"So if you saw him, then…?" Layton turned around to look at Prussia.

Prussia stiffened when Layton's eyes met his, and he immediately started getting in a rage again, much like Switzerland had done before.

"Oh, so now _I'M_ the culprit!?"

"**He had silver hair! I'm sure of it! Or…at least light hair**. Yeah, real light hair. And who's the one with light hair? This guy right here!" Sealand cried, pointing towards the Prussian.

"Professor," England said, turning to look over at him. "Do you really believe what Sealand's saying?"

"Yes and no," Layton replied. "Something's…just not right about this…"

* * *

**-to be continued…  
**

* * *

**EXTRAS**

**_LUKE'S NOTEBOOK_**

-This might be really random, but Lichtenstein's really cute. I mean, I know I'm really younger than her, but…if I were a boy her age, I think I'd really fancy her. (Flora, if you're reading this, you should be more like Lichtenstein!)

-Why is Latvia wondering what I'm writing? I'm just writing things for Flora. Why does he want to know so much…?

-Swizterland was accused of being Austria's muderer. Apparently they were close friends back in the day. But after Lichtenstein came to be, they haven't spoken with each other, since.

-North Italy and South Italy are also suspects. They said they were in the kitchen making pasta and garlic bread when Austria's murder had occurred.

-Prussia was another suspect, too. Though fell into Sealand's net. (Serves me him right, that bloody wanker! Excuse my language, but…he made fun of the Professor! Gosh! The nerve!)

-Apparently Sealand had used the same knife that North Italy had used to cut some garlic bread. How strange…! Where'd he get the knife from?

-Sealand's real cool. I should talk to him, since he's about my age, too. Maybe Lativa, him, and me can get along…?

-Sealand said that the culprit was a male (since he used "he") and had light hair. There are a lot of people with light hair. So…who really IS it?

* * *

**(A/N):** Thanks for reviewing, everyone! I wasn't expecting to get a lot of feedback, but wow, I was pleasantly surprised! (Hugs and cookies to everyone!) So this is the second chapter! Whoever said that Sealand should make an appearance is PSYCHIC! Hope you liked the conflict between Prussia and Sealand! (And France's drama!) If you could please give me some feedback for this chapter, that would be great! -B.B.


	3. An Uncomfortable Nighttime Snack

**(A/N):** This fic is meant to be read in ½ alignment.

* * *

o ― •― ― •― ― •― ― •― ―• ― o

» **A Global Enigma **«

o ― •― ―• ― ―• ― ― •― ―• ― o

_An invite to a World Country Meeting soon turns into a murder mystery.  
And anyone could be the culprit._

• • ― _Professor Layton and Axis Powers Crossover .  
_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Three**

_An Uncomfortable Nighttime Snack_

* * *

As dinner ended in the large banquet hall, representatives with satisfied stomachs stumbled out of the large room and were off to chat with their close allies somewhere more private. For those who weren't in much of a talkative mood, some simply decided to march off to their rooms to retire. Hungary, on the other hand, was gone from sight as soon as dinner was over.

Luke, sadly, was in his own category. Despite the fact that he wanted to talk before going off to bed, he couldn't seem to find anyone that was willing to talk to him: Layton was caught up in conversation with Arthur while Latvia was nowhere to be found.

Sighing, Luke exited the banquet hall with dismay. As he trudged off into the hallway where his room was supposed to be, he caught sight of a familiar young boy adorned in a sailor suit. He was bounding down the hallway with his arms extended outward like a plane.

Curious, a desperate Luke chased after him.

"Hey!" he called as he ran after the sailor boy.

The boy halted to a stop and turned around.

"Aren't you Sea-?"

"Yeah."

With surprised eyes, Luke offered his right hand out towards the boy.

"W-Well, my name's Luke."

"I know that."

"O-Oh…"

Sealand briefly took a glance to the side.

"Do you believe me?" the young sailor boy asked.

"What?"

"I said do you believe me," the boy reiterated. "About that stuff. Y'know. The _culprit_."

At this, Luke's eyes widened.

"Well! Do you!"

"I-I…suppose so…"

"Nobody believes me because they think I'm just some stupid kid," Sealand snapped as he folded his arms. "I don't even think that Professor guy believes me, either."

"Well I believe you about that light-haired stuff," Luke offered.

The young boy perked up from Luke's condolence and turned to look at him with hopeful eyes.

"Y-You do?"

"Of course. I mean, if you got the hair down pat, then I'm sure that'll lead to the culprit quicker."

Sealand smiled at Luke's comment, happy to know that at least someone believed him, even if the person was around his same age.

"I was off to go get some pastries," Sealand began to say, "You want some?"

"I-I guess so." Luke turned around to look down the empty hallway. "But, I wonder if Latvia would want to come too…"

"Aw, losers, sch'moosers!" Sealand cried as he seized Luke's wrist. "You can get one for him if you want to! But if England finds out, I'll be doing double-duty tomorrow morning!"

"'Double-duty'?"

"Cleaning the loos*."

"O-Oh…!"

"Now let's get a'going!"

The two new friends made a sharp turn to the left and went down a ways until Sealand stopped at a metal door. Using his shoulder, Sealand pushed the door just enough for him and Luke to squeeze past through without making a racket. As they went inside, Luke was stunned by the jubilant colors of fresh fruits and vegetables that lay out in the open air in intricate-woven baskets and smooth china bowls. Garlic, chile, bananas, and other tree-based foods were hung on metal rings, while breads and other wheats were all aligned neatly on the marble countertops. Glass cabinets with all types of cups and bottles were neatly displayed above the countertops and sinks. And the pastries, of course, were sitting in plain view atop the oven stove as they were neatly encased in wax paper.

"Oh goody!" Sealand cooed as he darted over towards the treats. "Looks like the chef just took them out for a cooling!" The boy immediately grabbed a few napkins before fishing out two puff pastries from the tray. "Quick! Get some for yourself!"

Luke scrambled over to the tray and copied what Sealand had done.

"Now let's get outta here!"

"R-Right!"

Before Luke started for the metal door, a shiny array of knives to his right caught his eye. Curious, he quickly counted the number of knives. And when he found the answer, his eyes began to widen with horror.

"Hey, Sealand," Luke asked, his voice almost inaudible.

"Yeah, what?" the country impatiently hissed.

"Are those the knives that England was talking about? The ones that he said he only had 12 of?"

"Yeah. Why? Look, Luke, can we please just-!"

"**There are 12 knives right here**."

At this shocking realization, Sealand's impatience faded. His eyes began to grow wider as well.

"W-What?"

"I just counted, and there are exactly 12."

"No…" Sealand began to say as he started to march over to where Luke was standing. As he did so, he placed his poached pastries on the sole wooden table that was in the kitchen. "You've got to be counting wrong."

"No, I'm not. Count for yourself," Luke said, turning to look as Sealand began to count off the knives with his index finger.

"One, two, three…seven…nine…eleven…**twelve**."

Horrorstruck, Sealand slowly turned to look at an equally terrified Luke.

"W-What does this all mean?"

"It means that there were more knives involved in this," Luke answered. He put his pastries on the marble countertop and put his hands on his hips. "**Someone's been messing around with these knives…**"

"**But England only has 12**; he's always had 12," Sealand cried, his face confused. "He couldn't have had more than that! I should know! I steal pastries from here all the time!"

"But if the knife that killed Austria was England's, then why did you have a knife when you captured Prussia, and why is there are knife still here?"

"So…does that mean there are…2 more knives?"

"There's no doubt about it," Luke said, nodding his head gravely. "But…who would bring knives to such a conference?"

"Beats me." Sealand said, dumbfounded.

"Let's take a look around."

Immediately, the two adolescent boys began to scramble around the small kitchen area, opening up all sorts of cabinets and pantries, searching for any sharp shiny object that might be hidden behind pans and pots or the like.

"Score!" yelped a gleeful Sealand.

"What! What did you find?" Luke cried, turning his head to look at Sealand, who had discovered something in the cutlery drawer.

"Vanilla icing!"

"W-What…?"

"Now I can put this on my pastry," he giggled. He ripped the red plastic cap off and began spooning out large blobs of sugary icing onto his breaded pastry. "This is gonna be the best pastry ever!"

"I swear," Luke muttered under his breath. "The nerve of such…" Suddenly, a glittering object caught Luke's attention from the drawer Sealand had just opened.

"Wait just a minute…!"

Luke ran over towards the drawer and found an odd-shaped knife poorly hidden beneath a bunch of silver forks. Spotting its handle, he fished it out of the pile and held it far away from him to examine it.

The knife had a weird edge pattern: is blade was in a zigzag pattern, with miniscule triangular teeth that made it look both deadly yet oddly mysterious…

"How strange," Luke whispered to himself, his eyes entranced by the complex blade pattern. "This couldn't possibly serve any purpose in England's home, can it…?"

"Mmmrph, beats mmmrpphh me," grumbled a gluttonous Sealand as he shoved a big piece of his iced-up pastry. "But that's definitely not a mmmrrpph knife of England's."

"I guess I'd better let the Professor take a look at this," Luke reasoned, putting the knife into his pants' pocket. "Maybe he'll have an explanation for it."

"Yeah, mmrpph, maybe."

Sealand licked his fingers clean of the white icing.

"So then I guess we should be going."

"Yes."

The two boys started towards the metal door. Sealand used his shoulder once more to open the door a notch, but for some reason, he was having a hard time getting it open.

"Need some help?" Luke asked.

"Nah, but…it's like something blocking our way ou-!"

Just then, a large force from the other side swung Sealand right off his feet as he collapsed onto the ground with a loud _thump_!

"Sealand!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," an apologetic voice said. A giant-like country of immense height stepped into the kitchen with a pair of worn dark brown snow boots. He stooped down as he offered a bulky hand out to the small sailor boy with an awkwardly sweet smile. "Here, let me help you up."

"Thanks," Sealand said as the representative raised the small child up effortlessly. "You wouldn't happen to be related to the chef, would ya?"

"Why, no," the country replied incredulously.

"Good. Because you didn't see us! …'Kay?"

Sealand gave a wink.

"Oh!" The tall countryman grinned and nodded. "Of course."

In contrast to Sealand's sociable personality, Luke stood beside his newfound friend skeptically as he examined this rather tall representative. His hair and skin were cream-colored, while his long beige military jacket uniform only made him look paler. But what was most shocking were his light violet eyes that pierced right through Sealand as he was talking to the young boy. Despite this young man's sweet overtone, it was eerie at the same time…

"U-Um," Luke piped up from beside Sealand. "P-Pardon me for interrupting, but, what's your name?"

"Ah! Sorry for not introducting myself sooner," the cheery country sheepishly replied.

He stretched out his long arm out to Luke.

"My name is Ivan Braginski. But you can call me Russia."

"Awww! That's so flippin' cool!" Sealand screeched, immediately grabbing ahold of the man's large hand and shaking it up and down. "So you're that country that's the biggest, right?"

"By land, yes," Ivan replied, softly laughing. "But we'd like others to move into our country, too."

"Oh I would! I would move! As long as I don't need to clean your loos*, that is!"

_Well I wouldn't move, even if he paid me a million pounds_, Luke thought to himself. Unlike Sealand, he was still uneasy about this tall man. There was just something about him that made Luke uncomfortable.

"W-Well," Luke interrupted again, "I think Sealand and I should best be going."

"Oh. Alright," Ivan said, rather stiffly. "I hope we meet each other again."

_Well I don't_, Luke thought.

Seeming to read Luke's face, Ivan gave a smile, making the situation for the small British boy even more awkward.

Shivering, Luke shoved his way out of the kitchen, with Sealand following behind him. Once the door was closed shut, however, Luke didn't hesitate to tell Sealand his feelings about Russia.

"Geez, that guy's a creeper," Luke exclaimed. He quickly turned his head to make sure the Russian hadn't heard.

"Whaddaya mean? That guy's so cool! And friendly!" Sealand reasoned. "He's much better than England. Trust me on that one."

"I… still don't know about that…"

"Well ANYWAY, we got our pastries, and that's it."

"I guess so..." Luke said. But to him, Russia still gave him shivers.

――――――――――――――

――――――――

"Um, Professor," Luke said. He poked his head into the professor's quarters and gave a small knock on the door. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Not at all. Come in," Layton replied. He was sitting on a dark green couch reading a periodical with a nice cup of tea on the table in front of him. It was a classic pastime of the ingenious scholar.

"Well, I came to you about this," Luke began to explain. He took the knife out of his pocket and handed it out for the professor to take. "I found it in the kitchen."

As Layton's eyes strayed from the newspapers' text, his eye immediately took hold of the glittering weapon in Luke's eyes. Indeed, it was quite a find.

"My goodness," the professor breathed. He took the knife from the boy's hands and began to examine it. "What an odd shape for a blade…"

"That's what I thought at first, too," Luke added, internally happy that Layton had thought of the same thing as he had. "But what do you suppose it means? I mean, when Sealand and I went into the kitchen, we counted the knives England had, and there were exactly 12."

"Twelve you say?"

"Yes. We double-checked, too! There's no doubt about it, professor. I'm sure that somebody brought knives to this conference."

"Oh, there's no doubt about that, my boy," Layton reasoned, flipping the blade over in his hands. "I'd already come to that conclusion when Sealand had given his personal account of the incident."

"O-Oh," a forlorn Luke sighed. Looks like Layton had already solved that part of the mystery long before he had done… "B-But, do you believe what Sealand had said?"

"Most of it, yes."

"That's good to hear."

"How strange," Layton mused. "I suppose the only reason that this blade would be designed would be to either cut a special type of bread, or…"

"Or what, Professor?"

"Or…**be another half of another blade**."

"W-What!"

"Mmm. These folds clearly explain my hypothesis," Layton said. "Here, take a look, Luke."

Luke eagerly bounded over to Layton's side to see what his teacher had to say.

"See the end of the blade where it stops?"

"Yes."

"Well it's agular, see? And if another blade was combined with it and it was rounded at the end as well, then the two blades would form and even larger blade – one that would make an even sharper edge of its own."

"A-Amazing, professor!" Luke gasped.

"Mmm, yes indeed."

"So THAT'S why there must've been two blades brought here…but they form ONE."

"Exactly, my boy."

"But…where do you suppose we'd find the other half to clarify this case as true?"

"I'm sure the culprit must have hidden it discreetly," Layton said. "It would be difficult for use to find, especially with all the representatives here. It would be impossible for us to search all of their rooms thoroughly for valid evidence."

"Oh…"

"But don't worry about that, Luke. You did an excellent job of finding this here knife. I'll keep it here with me, so nobody goes on thinking that you've got anything to do with this."

"Of course, Professor!" Luke said. He blushed a light shade of pink out of embarrassment, honored to have had his idol compliment him for helping make a breakthrough in the mystery. "I-I'll try and find more evidence right no-!"

"Now, now, shouldn't we be going to sleep? It's quite late and far past your bedtime."

"Aw, but Professor! I'm a grown boy! I can go without sleep!" Luke whined. "And why do you get to stay up later?"

"Because gentlemen are older, my dear boy." Layton replied with a wink.

* * *

**-to be continued…**

**

* * *

**

***Footnote:** In British prose, 'the loo' is the bathroom.

* * *

**EXTRAS**

_**LUKE'S NOTEBOOK**_

-Sealand and I found 12 knives in England's kitchen…even though one of England's knives was used to murder Austria! And I found the evidence!

-The Professor had said that the blade I found could possibly be one half of an even BIGGER BLADE. Isn't that so witty? Of course the Professor would figure something so smart like that! Gah, I have to be smarter if I call myself "his apprentice"! (And don't make fun of me for saying this, Flora!)

-That Ivan guy's a creeper. He just gave me all shivers. Maybe he's a nice guy like Sealand says, but…I don't know. I think I'll just stay away from him and keep being friends with Latvia. Now I know why Latvia's so scared of him.

-Those puff pastries were simply scrumptious! I've got to find out who Mr. Arthur's chef is!

* * *

**(A/N):** And here's the third chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! It be nice if you reviewed and tell me what I can improve on. (Or just give me your thoughts about the chapter/story!) Thanks for reading. ~B.B.


End file.
